AT&T Targets Full Otter Media Acquisition as Part of Its Buyout Spree

AT&T isn’t done looking for deals just yet — even after its mega-merger with Time Warner. The telecom giant is aiming to acquire all of Otter Media, according to a report from Recode on Wednesday.

AT&T — which co-owns the digital video company with The Chernin Group — would add several properties under its umbrella, including streaming service Crunchyroll and teen-focused network Fullscreen, with the deal. Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon’s digital media partnership with Otter Media, would also land at AT&T. The buyout is expected to close sometime this summer. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Otter Media and AT&T did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

The deal has been an “open secret,” according to Recode, but has been stuck in M&A purgatory while AT&T worked through its $85.4 billion buyout of Time Warner. AT&T, together with Chernin, invested $500 million into Otter Media in 2014. Taking full control of Otter Media would add another content wing to AT&T’s expanding slew of assets — which could soon include a $1.6 billion buyout of ad tech company AppNexus.

“You should expect some smaller, not like Time Warner, but some smaller M&A in the coming weeks to demonstrate our commitment,” AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson told CNBC last week.

Former DirecTV Senior Vice President Tony Goncalves joined Otter Media as its CEO earlier this year. The company said it pulls in 90 million unique visitors each month and had nearly 100 billion video views in 2017.

The U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released more than 3,500 advertisements and posts spread by Russian trolls before and after the 2016 U.S. election. Below is a look at 10 of the most shocking examples that stood out from Congress's reveal.

House Intelligence Committee

Many posts pushed the narrative that Hillary Clinton would confiscate guns if she were elected President.

House Intelligence Committee

This graphic meme painted cops as KKK members attacking a young black child.

House Intelligence Committee

Only "sissies" and other undesirables wouldn't support Donald Trump, many of the memes said.

House Intelligence Committee

President Obama was a "pawn" and "traitor" in the hands of "Arabian Sheikhs," said one 2016 ad.

Russian trolls also used Instagram to spread sponsored political memes.

House Intelligence Committee

The "Blacktivist" page routinely shared memes on Colin Kaepernick and other football players kneeling during the national anthem.

House Intelligence Committee

"Heart of Texas" routinely posted on "Killary Rotten Clinton," and threatened to secede from the union if she won the election.

House Intelligence Committee

The "Being Patriotic" page labeled ex-cons as "Obama voters."

House Intelligence Committee

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Congress just released 3,500 posts touching on a myriad of topics

The U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released more than 3,500 advertisements and posts spread by Russian trolls before and after the 2016 U.S. election. Below is a look at 10 of the most shocking examples that stood out from Congress's reveal.